The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has announced a significant policy change, banning transgender women from competing in certain domestic female tennis and padel tournaments in Britain, effective January 25.

The new rules, which apply only to higher-graded domestic inter-club competitions, will not affect entry into prestigious events like Wimbledon or other international tournaments such as those governed by the ITF, WTA, and ATP.

Transgender women, who were (allegedly) assigned male at birth, will no longer be eligible to compete in these higher-tier domestic events.

The policy will not extend to club-level tournaments or local social events, where individual venues can still set their own participation guidelines.

The LTA stated that the updated policy aims to balance “two potentially conflicting responsibilities: the need to ensure competition in our sport is fair and a responsibility to make sure tennis is welcoming and inclusive for everyone.”

 

“We appreciate the diversity of opinion around this matter and will keep the policy under review in the years ahead,” the LTA added.

This policy revision follows similar moves in other sports. Recently, the LPGA Golf Tour decided to ban transgender women who have gone through male puberty from competing in elite golf events.

Likewise, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced it will bar players who have experienced male puberty from participating in top-tier women’s cricket starting in 2025.

The LTA’s decision comes amid broader discussions in sports about the participation of transgender athletes, with governing bodies in athletics, swimming, and cycling also tightening their eligibility criteria for female competitions.

In the tennis world, the WTA’s gender participation policy, based on guidelines from 2015, remains under review, with new regulations potentially taking into account the International Olympic Committee’s transgender eligibility framework published in 2021.